The biodiversity of the seafloor remains largely unknown to science. Thankfully, marine scientists working in the Santa Barbara Channel are unlocking the mystery.

Deeper water fish - effective number of species

A series of figures showing the equally-common species for kelp forest fishes (top), mobile bottom-associated invetebrates (middle) and deep water fishes (bottom) around the four Northern Channel Islands from 2005 to 2014. Data source: Amalgamated dataset of SBC LTER, CINP Kelp Forest Monitoring Program, and PISCO; Figure credit: SBC MBON.

A series of figures showing the equally-common species for kelp forest fishes (top), mobile bottom-associated invetebrates (middle) and deep water fishes (bottom) around the four Northern Channel Islands from 2005 to 2014. Data source: Amalgamated dataset of SBC LTER, CINP Kelp Forest Monitoring Program, and PISCO; Figure credit: SBC MBON.

Click for Details Mean annual effective number of species for three taxonomic groups: kelp forest fishes (top), mobile demersal invertebrates (middle), and deeper water fishes (bottom). Shannon-Weiner diversity was converted to effective numbers of species, which allows for a more direct and intuitive comparison of community diversity over time. Kelp forest fish were surveyed across 86 shallow reef sites (3 to 16 meters depth) around the four northern Channel Islands from 2005 to 2014. Mobile invertebrates were surveyed across 63 shallow reef sites (3 to 16 meters depth) around the four northern Channel Islands from 1982 to 2016. Deep-water fish were surveyed at three reefs off the Channel Islands (Piggy Bank, Footprint, and Anacapa passage) at depths ranging from 40 to 407 meters in 1995 and annually between 1998 and 2011. Error bars indicate the 95 percent confidence interval in a given year. The horizontal line is the mean across sites over time. For more information, consult Figure App.F.15.1 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.

Deep-sea corals - estimated species richness

A figure showing the diversity of deep-sea corals across study sites in the Southern California Bight. Figure credit: Etnoyer et al. 2015.

A figure showing the diversity of deep-sea corals across study sites in the Southern California Bight. Figure credit: Etnoyer et al. 2015.

Click for Details Diversity of deep-sea corals at the eight study sites in southern California with the best ROV coverage, or research effort. The footprint (red) in the sanctuary ranks among the highest for biodiversity and abundance of deep-sea corals. For more information, consult Figure App.F.15.3 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.

Infaunal invertebrates - community composition

Left: a map showing the results of sediment contamination on invertebrate communities that live within the sediment. Right: a map showing a shift in sediment-dwelling invetebrate communites towards being more tolerant of sediment impacts based on a 2013 study. Figure credit: K. Schiff/SCCWRP.

Left: a map showing the results of sediment contamination on invertebrate communities that live within the sediment. Right: a map showing a shift in sediment-dwelling invetebrate communites towards being more tolerant of sediment impacts based on a 2013 study. Figure credit: K. Schiff/SCCWRP.

Click for Details (Left) Infaunal invertebrate communities are characterized based on the proportion of a sediment sample with taxa that are sensitive (green, reference) as opposed to tolerant (red, high disturbance) of contaminant levels. (Right) In the most recent samples collected in 2013, ten of the 15 sites in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary had an infaunal community composition that was shifting to that which is more tolerant of degraded conditions (red) compared to the samples collected previously. For more information, consult Figure App.F.15.4 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.